*** The 2018 Gym Rats Thread ***
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Soldato
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Being Veggie and getting protein you should have zero excuses really. Im sure you have what one meal a day with your partner which leaves every other meal for you to source.
FYI you should check out Oumph! food range (Tescos stock it in freezer section) it is considerably better than Quorn in taste. It is also Vegan friendly.
Soldato
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Anyone have a nutritional reference for mixed chicken?
I cooked a chicken, cut it all up and put it in meals. but i can't find how macros etc for it as I'm not sure on leg/breast mix haha.
I cooked a chicken, cut it all up and put it in meals. but i can't find how macros etc for it as I'm not sure on leg/breast mix haha.
Soldato
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You'd need to know the rough weight of the chicken before you started (time to bin raid), then you'd look at whole chickens on MyFitnessPal etc, see what macros are p/100g then use that to determine what yours was, then divide into the number of servings you made. It doesn't matter if one day you have more leg than breast etc as you'll be eating the whole thing over several days so it'll even itself out.
Soldato
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If you're vegetarian then it shouldn't be too hard - whey, casien (I use milk protein powder which is a blend of both), eggs/egg whites, low fat cheese etc. If you're going the vegan route your only real option is to supplement with powders - soy/pea/brown rice/hemp are the main 4, with the first 2 being the least worst - since there are no real 'lean' sources of vegan protein and unless you're super active it's difficult to get a high protein intake without a really high carb intake too. Clarence whose diet was referenced trains daily, cycles a lot and weighs around 100kg IIRC so his calorific requirements are high (ergo lots of carbs).
Soldato
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Hmm, I got ~700g of meat off it, that I was eating as 100g portions. are the myfitnesspal numbers cooked?
Soldato
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700g raw meat is going to be about 140-150g protein, about 20-23g per meal (depends how water-filled the chicken was before cooking) and fat... skin on for whole chicken = maybe like 90g, skin off = maybe 30g or something (about 70-75% of the calories from fat in chicken are from the skin IIRC). The thighs are slightly higher in fat than the breasts but not massively.
Soldato
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Search YouTube for "Clarence Kennedy diet" - he's a vegan and posted up his typical day - he's pretty weak though so not sure if he's a great talisman for veganism
Will check them out, thanks
Im fairly new to the Vegetarian life so still getting to grips with better foods, I would say lunch is my worst meal of the day, fruit and nuts for breakfast, I have been logging on my fitness pal but i always seem to be too high on the Fat due to the amount of nuts I eat.
Tried the Oumph i wasn't a fan, linda mcartney pulled chicken and duck is my jam at the moment!
I have tried about 5-6 different protein brands my problem is I hate milkshakes with a passion and any that aren't aimed to be milk shake consistency I may as well just eat the powder dry!
I think I Just need to look at my diet a bit better as I get real tired quickly without enough carbs.
Thanks for all the replies trying to kick my training up a gear as I want to compete in november
Soldato
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Will check them out, thanks
Im fairly new to the Vegetarian life so still getting to grips with better foods, I would say lunch is my worst meal of the day, fruit and nuts for breakfast, I have been logging on my fitness pal but i always seem to be too high on the Fat due to the amount of nuts I eat.
Tried the Oumph i wasn't a fan, linda mcartney pulled chicken and duck is my jam at the moment!
I have tried about 5-6 different protein brands my problem is I hate milkshakes with a passion and any that aren't aimed to be milk shake consistency I may as well just eat the powder dry!
I think I Just need to look at my diet a bit better as I get real tired quickly without enough carbs.
Thanks for all the replies trying to kick my training up a gear as I want to compete in november
There's plenty of protein+carb sources - beans, lentils, chickpeas and that sort of thing. Would be a better choice than piling nuts in as while they have protein in, the high fat content makes them poor in terms of being low volume/high calorie.
You don't have to just drink protein powder. I often use mine to make proats (high protein oats - cook your oats with minimal liquid then add in the shake and reheat for a bit - basically like making oats with milk), some of the vegan protein powders are a little more savory and can by used with soups. You can also make microwave mug cakes and something resembling Angel Delight as well. It's much more versatile than just adding liquid and necking it.
Man of Honour
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Having not flat benched for a year, at the end of my chest day I figured I would have a go and slowly put up the weight. Stopped at 100kg, but it felt really good! Amazing to think that this time last year I was in physio and thought I would never bench again (and last August had to start from 8kg dumbbells). Since then my chest and shoulders have never felt or looked better. Having maxed out the dumbbells in my gym, I am going to start to slowly add back in flat benching. My incline bench has stalled for some reason.
Really pleased with my shoulder too. Roughly following 531, adding a measly 1kg every 3 weeks, but am making progress nonetheless. Hit 75 kg OHP yesterday having stalled for ages. I think lateral raises are helping. All with zero shoulder pain too.
The only lift that is really suffering at the moment is my squat since my wife keeps booking holidays and I can't get into a rhythm with it.
Really pleased with my shoulder too. Roughly following 531, adding a measly 1kg every 3 weeks, but am making progress nonetheless. Hit 75 kg OHP yesterday having stalled for ages. I think lateral raises are helping. All with zero shoulder pain too.
The only lift that is really suffering at the moment is my squat since my wife keeps booking holidays and I can't get into a rhythm with it.
Soldato
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How do people break through plateaus?
I've been stuck on my shoulder press for about 3 weeks now. I'm strong enough to do my current weight for the required reps/sets but move it up by 2kg (dumbbells) it's like lifting a ton of bricks and I cant complete the minimum reps/sets.
I've been stuck on my shoulder press for about 3 weeks now. I'm strong enough to do my current weight for the required reps/sets but move it up by 2kg (dumbbells) it's like lifting a ton of bricks and I cant complete the minimum reps/sets.
Man of Honour
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Different split. 5x5, 531, 8x3.
Eating more.
Dropping the weight for a bit.
Work within percentages of max lift, 60-90%.
Last edited:
Man of Honour
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My squat has gone backwards in terms of weight and a huge difference between my squat and deadlift. However, my form is much better, so I will take that.
Knock 10% or so off your current weight and then increase the weight gradually. When you hit your current max you should beat it.
Soldato
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Depends on the movement. For something like a deadlift going up in around 2.5% jumps is going to be fairly easy to get close to with the typical plates available, because it's going to likely be more than 2.5kg. In the case of a DB press or isolation movements, going to the next weight up (+2.5kg) is likely to be far more than 2.5% so you're limited to. ProgressAlternatives therefore =
1) buy fractional plates (0.5kg for example) and have some way of attaching them so you can go up in % jumps similar to bigger lifts.
2) if you're doing 3 x 6-8 for example, then try and get to 3 x 12 across all sets. If you can get 3 x 12 with say, 20kg DBs, you'd probably be able to hit at least the minimum reps for the 22.5kg ones.
Soldato
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I think 2) is my best approach.
So yea I'll concentrate on more reps for the moment.
Soldato
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Cool - there's no one right way to progress, you just have to find what works for you with what's equipment you have available and certainly with dumbbell work it's unrealistic to linearly progress in a narrow rep range for most movements.
Man of Honour
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Have had a few compliments for moving 140kg+ on the isolateral pull down and 100kg+ on the rear fly machine. I quite like them to supplement other exercises and am pleased with how I have built them up. 8x3 has really pushed me through previous plateaus.
Tiny niggle in my AC joint today I think though, so will keep flat barbell bench press out until it goes (a tiny bit gutted that I still can't do this without it aggravating my shoulder, but at least I can work my chest now and don't want to go back to zero as I did last year). Incline, decline, flat dumbbell, pec fly all seem fine though. Just limited by the 50kg dumbbells. Don't think I can do much about that though. Dumbbells certainly seem healthier for the shoulder.
Tiny niggle in my AC joint today I think though, so will keep flat barbell bench press out until it goes (a tiny bit gutted that I still can't do this without it aggravating my shoulder, but at least I can work my chest now and don't want to go back to zero as I did last year). Incline, decline, flat dumbbell, pec fly all seem fine though. Just limited by the 50kg dumbbells. Don't think I can do much about that though. Dumbbells certainly seem healthier for the shoulder.
Soldato
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I'm considering dropping bench completely; all the time in yoga anything where you're pushing you move from retracting at the bottom to protraction at the top when the arm is extended fully (as is natural), and obviously in a barbell bench you're meant to keep them retracted all the time... my brain can't get the memo and I always lose my scapular position by the end of a set.
Instead I've got a climbers chest harness off Amazon, the chain from a dipping belt and I'm going to be doing these instead along with weighted dips, albeit without the dead-stop at the bottom. It's better than having a plate slip around on your back (if you can get it on) and it puts the added load in a better position than using a normal weighted belt:
I'm not a powerlifter; I don't do much under 6 reps, I don't low bar squat (ever), I don't deadlift as it doesn't fit in non-PL specific programs very well compared to complimenting quad dominant work with stuff like RDLs/good mornings/barbell back extensions on the GHD... so inevitably I'm asking myself why I stick to bench stubbornly when I don't think it's even that great a movement.
#nonattachment
Hmmm... 100kg+ for a tiny muscle group that is meant to act as a stabiliser and you have a niggle in your AC? I'd think carefully about your routine, here.
Bench is gash.